


A Treatise On Attraction

by Meimi



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Fluff, M/M, May/December Relationship, somewhere after Heavensward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 02:52:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16589441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meimi/pseuds/Meimi
Summary: A small area of concern is put to rest.





	A Treatise On Attraction

**Author's Note:**

> I had completely forgotten that I wrote this and posted it on my Tumblr. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Then somebody found it recently and reminded me. *waves at tresselslief* Anyway, this was written way back in 2015 before 3.3 dropped and... well, I'm glad things turned out so well in canon too. I'm not gonna bother with age stuff, since technically Alphie should be old enough in canon to do whatever he wants. Elezen growth seems kind of weird though.
> 
> Anyway, this is basically stupid fluff set somewhere after Heavensward and all of its patches. Enjoy!

It took Estinien several moments to process what he’d just heard. In truth, he wasn’t quite sure how the conversation had steered in that direction. He’d definitely had far different intentions in mind when he’d come up here, after all. And he was pretty sure that he’d made those intentions more than clear as of late. So what in the world had brought this up? “You don’t think you’re attractive?” Estinien finally asked, his tone hinting at some confusion over the subject. Surely not. He _had_ been quite clear before now, hadn’t he? There’d been no subterfuge involved. Indeed, he wasn’t even sure he _could_ pull off subterfuge in this particular case. A wooer, he was not.

Alphinaud gave him a clearly unamused look at the rather bald question. “No, of course not. I get mistaken enough for a girl to know that isn’t the problem.”

Then what was? “I’m not sure I understand-” Estinien began, then stopped as the whole “girl” issue registered to him fully. Oh. _Oh_. Yes, that was likely the problem. It was somewhat ridiculous, but it made sense in an odd sort of way. Alphinaud was still young and incredibly inexperienced, so it might have come across to him that way thanks to stray comments. “You think your attraction is tied into the fact that you have a rather feminine look about you?”

Alphinaud’s gaze skittering away from Estinien was more than enough confirmation that he was right, though the careless hand wave thrown in certainly helped solidify that assumption as well. “You yourself have said I’m "pretty”,“ Alphinaud stated evenly, but didn’t look back. Another rather telling sign.

"Well, you are.” Estinien fought back a delighted grin. It was endearing in a way, and remarkable, that Alphinaud had retained such awkward insecurities after everything he’d been through, everything _they’d_ been through. He was completely wrong, of course, but it was still rather cute. And something that could easily be fixed, unlike everything else. “You are quite lovely, my boy,” Estinien said ever so casually as he tapped hard on the table, “And I enjoy looking at you.” He crooked his finger once his tapping had successfully retrieved Alphinaud’s attention. The boy gave him an odd look, then shrugged, stood up from his chair, and circled around the table towards him. “I’ve never really thought of you as a girl though, nor has it ever factored into my attraction for you.”

“Can you really be sure about that?” Alphinaud asked dubiously as he allowed Estinien to pull him down onto his lap.

“Yes, because I wasn’t exactly attracted to you to begin with,” Estinien said simply as he wrapped his arms around his boy and gently rest his chin atop Alphinaud’s head. It had never been his intention at all to fall for anyone, much less someone this young and tiny, but things change. Him, most of all, perhaps. “You were very easy on the eye, I won’t lie about that. But you were barely more than a child when we met, and you’re hardly more than one now.” He almost clucked his tongue as he felt Alphinaud stiffen slightly in perceived offense. Young indeed. “I was also deep in the throes of my own personal vendetta. Very little mattered to me besides that. And since then, well,” he leaned down a bit more and buried his nose in that frost white hair, “so much is different now.”

“Not so much,” Alphinaud murmured encouragingly. “We’re still the same people we were before.”

Yes, very cute. But not what Estinien had been aiming for. Alphinaud must think him giving over to the melancholy. Hardly. He had other things on his mind. Though, it was rather amusing that his boy hadn’t figured those other things out yet. “On the contrary, I am quite different from the man I was before. And glad I am of it. Nidhogg left his marks, of course, and they will hound my steps for the rest of my days. Of that, I am certain. But that’s not what we’re talking about right now,” Estinien voice took on an almost playful lilt as he slid his nose through that ever so soft hair and down to one of those perfectly pointed ears. “We’re talking about why I find you attractive. It has nothing to do with looking like a girl and everything to do with you being you.”

That earned him a snort. Good. He did not want to focus on the terrible things at all today. Period. They’d had more than enough of that of late. By the Fury, had they. No no, time spent on more frivolous pursuits was called for. “I could extol your virtues until I go hoarse and you wouldn’t believe a single word I said. You’re infuriatingly stubborn that way,” Estinien groused goodnaturedly as he tightened his grip around his pliant (for now) captive. “So instead of going through all of that and getting nowhere, let’s try a more hands on approach, shall we? I’m not wearing armor today.”

The confusion was almost palpable. Alphinaud tilted his head back and was no doubt blinking up at him in bewilderment. Sometimes the boy’s inexperience could be downright exasperating, but not today. Today it was absolutely adorable and Estinien couldn’t wait until Alphinaud clued in on what he was getting at. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Estinien chuckled. He just couldn’t help it. This was too perfect. “I’m not wearing any armor, precious. So why don’t you tell me what’s different and what should be different?”

Ah, and there it was. Alphinaud went completely stiff in his grasp, not unlike something he himself had been nursing for awhile. These things played out so well. Congratulating himself on a job well done, Estinien lightly kissed the back of his boy’s ear before continuing on with their odd conversation, “I find you attractive because you are you, not because you have soft features. Indeed, you may grow out of them, and I don’t care. You are far more than your looks, and I like that. I like that a great deal.”

And like clockwork, Alphinaud squirmed at his words, and oh, did that feel wonderful. Absolutely perfect. One day he very much looked forward to pursuing that beyond their initial play, but not today. And not for awhile yet. Both of their spirits were still frayed and in need of mending. Time was needed more than anything. And while Estinien was pretty sure that Alphinaud wouldn’t say no if he carried him off to bed (he wasn’t _that_ young, after all), it was best to wait for now. Too many skeletons still left rattling in the closet, best to clean them out first. And so for now, he would enjoy what he had. “A precious treasure”, or so the parts of him that weren’t quite Estinien Wyrmblood anymore hissed. _His_ precious treasure. Yes, scraps of Nidhogg would haunt him forever, but there was no need to fight all of them. Most especially not when they agreed so fervently on the same thing.


End file.
